2 h. ago Streeting denies plot to oust Starmer and condemns briefings from No 10

Health secretary says attacks on him from Downing Street ‘self-defeating’ after reports PM’s job could be under threatUK politics live – latest updatesWes Streeting has denied leading a plot to overthrow the prime minister and called for those briefing against him to be sacked, widening an extraordinary rift at the top of government. The health secretary condemned the “self-defeating” attacks on him coming from Downing Street and said they were indicative of a toxic culture inside No 10. He rebuked the senior aides who were behind the anonymous briefings and said they proved that “there are people around the prime minister who do not follow his model and style of leadership”. Streeting was responding to the Guardian’s report that Downing Street has launched an operation to protect Keir Starmer against a leadership challenge his allies believe could come from Streeting after the budget or May local elections. The prime minister’s closest allies insisted he would fight any “reckless” ...

Politics

3 h. ago UK politics live: Wes Streeting denies plan to challenge Starmer

Sir Keir Starmer’s allies say prime minister is prepared to fight any attempt to topple him

Politics

12 h. ago Airlines warn flight disruptions to continue even after government shutdown ends: Live updates

More than 1,200 flights were canceled so far on Tuesday

Events

14 h. ago House votes to end shutdown Wednesday as Democrat says party ‘crossed a line’ putting politics over country: Live

Chuck Schumer faces calls to step down as top Democrat as Congress prepares to pass short-term funding bill

Politics

15 h. ago MPs warned against 'sustained attack' on BBC after Donald Trump legal threat

US President Donald Trump threatened to sue the BBC for $1billion if it fails to retract 'false' and 'defamatory' statements after his speech was edited in a Panorama documentary

Events

19 h. ago Starmer Government backtracks after telling BBC to apologise to Trump over 'fake news' storm

No10 declines to repeat comments from a minister telling the Corporation to say sorry to the US president over its mistake in editing one of his speeches

Politics

21 h. ago Tim Davie tells BBC staff ‘we have to fight for our journalism’ but does not address Trump’s $1bn lawsuit threat – live

Outgoing director general says freedom of press under pressure and that he sees ‘weaponisation’Here is a round-up of what various lawyers and commentators have been saying about Donald Trump’s legal case against the BBC.Joshua Rozenberg, the legal commentator and a former BBC journalist, has said in a post on his A Lawyer Writes Substack that the corporation should settle. He explains:Given what Brito is claiming, the lawyer is unlikely to be impressed with the BBC’s assertion that “the purpose of editing the clip was to convey the message of the speech made by President Trump so that Panorama’s audience could better understand how it had been received by President Trump’s supporters and what was happening on the ground at that time”.So the BBC would be well advised to draft a retraction and apology in terms that the president’s lawyer finds acceptable. Brito is also calling for this to be broadcast as prominently as the original programme. And the corporation will have to pay compe...

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21 h. ago Catherine Connolly sworn in as 10th president of Ireland and promises to be a ‘catalyst for change’ – Europe live

Independent leftwing politician inaugurated as president after landslide election winYou can watch the live stream of the Irish presidential inauguration here:Irish president-elect Catherine Connolly has just arrived at the Dublin Castle for her presidential inauguration. Continue reading...

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22 h. ago Tim Davie tells BBC staff ‘we have to fight for our journalism’ as Trump threatens $1bn lawsuit – UK politics live

Outgoing director general says freedom of press under pressure and that he sees ‘weaponisation’Here is a round-up of what various lawyers and commentators have been saying about Donald Trump’s legal case against the BBC.Joshua Rozenberg, the legal commentator and a former BBC journalist, has said in a post on his A Lawyer Writes Substack that the corporation should settle. He explains:Given what Brito is claiming, the lawyer is unlikely to be impressed with the BBC’s assertion that “the purpose of editing the clip was to convey the message of the speech made by President Trump so that Panorama’s audience could better understand how it had been received by President Trump’s supporters and what was happening on the ground at that time”.So the BBC would be well advised to draft a retraction and apology in terms that the president’s lawyer finds acceptable. Brito is also calling for this to be broadcast as prominently as the original programme. And the corporation will have to pay compe...

Politics

22 h. ago Tim Davie's final message to BBC staff after humiliating exit over Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump has threatened legal action if the corporation does not retract “false” and “defamatory” statements made about him in a documentary.

Politics

23 h. ago Racism returning to UK politics – and people are very scared, says Starmer

PM attacks ‘toxic division of Reform’ and gives strongest signal yet that two-child benefit cap will be liftedUK politics live – latest updatesDecades-old racism is returning to British politics, and “it makes people feel very scared” Keir Starmer has said, warning that divisive hard-right politics was “tearing our country apart”.Speaking to the GP and TV personality Amir Khan, the prime minister accused Nigel Farage’s Reform UK of overseeing a return of the racist and divisive politics “that frankly I thought we had dealt with decades ago”. Continue reading...

Politics

24 h. ago Minister suggests BBC should apologise to Trump over documentary as president threatens $1bn lawsuit – UK politics live

Alison McGovern speaks to media about BBC crisis as culture secretary due to address MPs in attempt to contain falloutYesterday Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, gave an interview that indicated very strongly that she will get rid of the two-child benefit cap in full in the budget. It had been reported that the government was only going to partially remove it (by replacing the cap with a softer version, like a three-child benefit cap), but Reeves signalled that the cap will go in its entirety.If anyone did not get the message, Keir Starmer has signalled exactly the same intention – only even more strongly. In an interview with Amir Khan, a doctor and ITV broadcaster, the PM said he was determined to drive child poverty down. In the clip, recorded yesterday but broadcast this morning, Starmer said:I can tell you in no uncertain terms I’m determined to drive child poverty down. It is what the last Labour government did. And it’s one of the things we were proudest of. I am personally dete...

Politics

25 h. ago 'Apologise to Trump,' Starmer Government tells BBC as president threatens $1 billion lawsuit over 'fake news'

The Conservatives said the Corporation should ‘grovel’ to the US president

Politics

26 h. ago With his threat of a $1bn lawsuit against BBC, Trump’s assault on the media goes global

US president’s latest media target comes from across the pond as he continues to scrutinize coverage he does not likeDonald Trump has, for years, used legal threats and lawsuits to pressure news companies who put out coverage he does not like. After his return to power, a string of US broadcasters and tech firms have paid tens of millions of dollars to settle such cases.The president has now gone global with this campaign, crossing the pond to threaten the BBC with a $1bn lawsuit over an episode of the Panorama documentary program that aired more than a year ago. Continue reading...

Events

32 h. ago Senate advances bipartisan bill to end government shutdown – live

The vote would bring the longest shutdown in history to a close after a small group of Democrats struck a deal with Republicans.Senate Democrats who defected: ‘This was the only deal’Here’s how each senator votedThe eight Democratic and Independent senators who broke ranks with the party to advance a bill that would end the government shutdown – the longest in US history – have defended their decisions amid furor from their party and base.“What happened tonight is not the closing of a chapter. It’s the opening of an opportunity. What the chapter does close is the damaging shutdown that is only getting worse, that is only going to impact more and more people,” said Angus King, the Independent lawmaker from Maine who caucuses with Democrats. Continue reading...

Politics

33 h. ago Donald Trump tells BBC to apologise by Friday or face billion

BBC chairman Samir Shah apologised for an ‘error of judgment’ over the editing of a speech by Donald Trump for Panorama.

Politics

37 h. ago Schumer faces calls to resign as minority leader after some Democrats work with Republicans to end shutdown – live

Schumer, who did not vote in favor of the legislation, faces steep pushback from progressive lawmakers who blame him for the Democrats who defectedSenate Democrats who defected: ‘This was the only deal’Here’s how each senator votedThe eight Democratic and Independent senators who broke ranks with the party to advance a bill that would end the government shutdown – the longest in US history – have defended their decisions amid furor from their party and base.“What happened tonight is not the closing of a chapter. It’s the opening of an opportunity. What the chapter does close is the damaging shutdown that is only getting worse, that is only going to impact more and more people,” said Angus King, the Independent lawmaker from Maine who caucuses with Democrats. Continue reading...

Politics

40 h. ago Senate Democrats defend breaking ranks to end shutdown as Johnson to finally swear in Arizona’s Adelita Grijalva

Decision to advance bill that would reopen government has sparked furor from party and base; House speaker to swear in Democratic representative when chamber returns, a month after her election winSenate Democrats who defected in shutdown vote: ‘This was the only deal’How each senator voted on legislation to end US government shutdownThe eight Democratic and Independent senators who broke ranks with the party to advance a bill that would end the government shutdown – the longest in US history – have defended their decisions amid furor from their party and base.“What happened tonight is not the closing of a chapter. It’s the opening of an opportunity. What the chapter does close is the damaging shutdown that is only getting worse, that is only going to impact more and more people,” said Angus King, the Independent lawmaker from Maine who caucuses with Democrats. Continue reading...

Politics

41 h. ago Donald Trump threatens legal action against BBC over Panorama documentary speech edit

The US President addressed the controversy on social media over the weekend

Politics

42 h. ago Donald Trump threatens BBC with $1bn lawsuit as chair says speech edit was ‘error of judgment’ – latest updates

BBC chair Samir Shah apologises for way in which speech from US president was edited after corporation’s two most senior executives resignWe have heard from Culture, Media and Sport committee chair Caroline Dinenage, who has suggested that the outgoing BBC director Tim Davie ignored an internal dossier into bias at the BBC (see post at 09.06 for more detail on the dossier).She said Davie “ignored” concerns raised in Michael Prescott’s report over the way the speech by Donald Trump was edited for Panorama.I’m very sad about Tim Davie stepping down. I think he was an effective leader at the BBC.I think he was a great champion for public service media, but there is no escaping the fact that he was very slow to act on this particular issue. But this isn’t the first time and on this particular issue, Michael Prescott’s report, he just didn’t take it seriously until it was too late.I would like to say it has been the privilege of my career to serve as the CEO of BBC News and to work with ...

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